Malaysian Gov’t Refuses To Ban Arms Suppliers to Israel From Defense Convention

The Malaysian government will not move to directly prevent business dealings between domestic companies and foreign arms manufacturers, the country’s defense minister announced publicly on Tuesday, even those international entities that sell weapons to Israel.  

Tuesday’s statement was made in response to a domestic outcry within the two-thirds-majority Muslim nation about the presence of firms with Israeli defense contracts at this week’s Defense Services Asia conference and National Security Asia exhibitions.  

Hosted and partially organized by Malaysia’s Defense Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry, more than 1,300 companies from 60 countries are taking part in the trade show, including the US-based defense firm Lockheed Martin and multinational European missile manufacturer MBDA. Both companies have been accused of complicity in Israel’s military invasion of Gaza.  

The Solidarity for Palestinians group held a protest event outside the event on Tuesday, demanding that companies with connections to the Israeli military be banned from the event based on the Malaysian government’s expressed support for Palestinian statehood and a permanent cease-fire in the conflict.  

While affirming that his government is supportive of the Palestinian cause, Malaysian Defense Minister Khaled Nordin noted in his statement that “[Malaysia] is a free trade country” and that “this exhibition does not favor or give advantage to any particular country or company.”  

“The relationship of some global defense companies with certain countries is a business matter that Malaysia will not interfere with,” Khaled added.